A Little Afraid
by His Only Orchid
Summary: And it was only because he was Roy, a complete hopeless idiot, and she was Riza, the smartest, most beautiful sharpshooter he had ever known—and nothing would ever change that.


I wrote some nice Royai after watching the episode where Roy and Riza are on the phone together because ieruhowrkejr. I'll probably have one or two more chapters in my GaLe one-shot collection, then it'll be done for now, at least. I might rewrite my Soul Eater story too. I decided it's time for a complete revamp on all my stories. So, you can expect some FMA, FT, and Naruto stories in the next few months or so. It'll be hard with school though! Enjoy!

* * *

Riza Hawkeye was never one to often feel _fear. _She had a soul of steel, unmoving and vigilant, and there were rarely times when she would slip and let her emotions shine through, if not for a glimpse of a moment. Most of her carefree demeanor had been robbed by the war, the voices of those she had murdered haunting her dreams, their hoarse voices like mantras in her head. Sometimes they would even invade her conscious mind, but their faces would appear too—vivid with _fear_.

The young lieutenant considered the emotion fear foreign, and simply branded it as a burden to her line of work.

However, fear had reared its ugly head a few times in her life.

Breaking into the third laboratory was one hell of a mission, knowing what things could be lurking down there—but she hadn't thought twice about her comrades being severely injured. She hadn't thought about Havoc losing use of his lower body. And she certainly hadn't thought that her superior would be _tortured and left to die, _because she wasn't at his side. The indescribable _pain_ that had rammed itself into her heart, twisting and shredding her fortified walls to pieces, like a knife to a lamb's flesh—that was the pain of losing someone dear. The fear of losing someone so beloved, so treasured was a terrifying emotion.

When Gluttony had thrown himself into a fit of rage, and opened up that _ghastly_ thing in his stomach and swallowed half of her current lodgings, she was stunned. When the colonel's words had met her ears, she froze, the realization hitting her. _This thing could kill her any second it see fits. _It could have wiped away her entire existence in the blink of an eye. It scared her to think that her own life could end there. He could swallow her into that abyss, and nothing would be left but her name. It struck fear in her bones, cold and rooted, awakening her to the thought of how precious life is; and she couldn't have pulled that trigger if she wanted to, for her fingers remained poised to shoot, but her nerve was broken—by fear.

Then, there was Pride. She could still feel the cold touch of his filthy shadows traversing her flesh, carving his words permanently into her mind. The way he toyed with her, leaving the smallest of cuts to emphasize a rather large point he was trying to state for her. This kind of fear was simple fear—and yet it wasn't so simple. It was so terrifying it rooted you to the ground, chills racking your spine and fingers trembling. She was _scared. _Scared that the Homunculus would leave his domain in the shadows and track her down, and violate her and her own pride some more. It was fear that never left her body, and she liked to (or rather not liked to) think of it as "slight" traumatization.

She had felt it in her own home—her own dwelling, the housing of her very essence—and she was _afraid._

Of course, Roy picks this time to call her.

With a jump, she hesitantly picked up the phone, attempting to hide her anxiety with her usual façade. With a quick slip of a sigh, of course, Mustang saw right through her—hell, knowing him, deep down she knew it wouldn't take much even if he _was _drunk. Riza promised she was all right. She promised she would be, but she so desperately wished he would pull something stupid and come running up to her door and throw his drunken ass at her.

Well, knowing him, he _would_ pull something as stupid as that.

Sighing for the umpteenth time that night, she fell to her knees, and let a small smile grace her lips. Hayate padded his way to her, cocking his head ever so slightly. Softly, her hands pulled the all-too-friendly canine into her form.

"It's amazing how uncanny his timing is," she whispered, smiling. The turmoil in her heart calmed, a steady beat returning to her chest as she slowly rose to her feet. Her fingers brushed the small cuts that blemished her skin, before _his _voice, deep in her subconscious, lulled her calloused digits away her marred flesh.

Deciding on showering in the morning, Riza quickly stripped and threw herself rather undignified onto her comforter, settling down next to Black Hayate. The soft glow of midnight was cast across the sky, the twinkling of the stars reminding her of the gentle light Mustang held inside him. The same light that gave her hope, everyday through her hardships, learning more, creating more, _being _more. Even if he had committed such horrible sin to her body, even if the both of them had destroyed countless souls, she still found hope with in him. His own will power rubbed of on her, and in turn, she showed him the warmth of love; back-to-back they stood, nurturing feelings that would have long died if it were anyone else. She learned to put faith in him, and lean on him a little too.

Every time she felt afraid, any time she seemed to lose her hope, he was there. He was there to hold out his hand to her, and spin her around so she would be at his back, because he too, knew he could trust her, knew he could depend on her. So instead of being selfish and giving her his front, so he alone would remain protected, he would give her his back.

Out of all the things though, Riza was not afraid to develop an emotional dependency on Mustang. The only time he turned his back on her was when _he_ put his trust in her that she'd protect him, so long as he would be around to protect her. And he didn't even have to verbalize his promise that he'd stay by her side in her times of need, for he knew if he didn't she'd probably hold him at gunpoint until he _did_ remember.

And it was only because he was Roy, a complete hopeless idiot, and she was Riza, the smartest, most _beautiful _sharpshooter he had ever known—and nothing would ever change that.

* * *

Ugh that ending *-* so bad. But please R&R! ^_^


End file.
